Just when you think Breaking Bad can't get any better, it does. The final episodes have already been spectacular but this episode took it to a whole new level. It featured multiple twists I didn't see coming, with the last one being a huge game-changer. Last week could very well be even better than this episode (as hard to imagine as that is). The intensity has been increased to unbelievably high levels, and I almost can't believe what I'm seeing.

I had no idea that the Brock incident would come back so soon!

Once again I have no complaints from this week's episode. The beginning of the episode seemed strange both at the time, but it was still necessary to move the plot along. Todd cooking in New Mexico could cause some big problems. Breaking Bad never starts their episodes off with the expected approach. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the little things written in often excite me. The fact that Todd refers to Walt by his name instead of Heisenberg may end up being big and thus get Walt into some trouble, and it was also telling that Todd refers to the train as a glorious moment despite the fact that he shot a child. Also, it looks like he will be cooking in New Mexico, which may end up being a little too close to home. This scene was not only necessary to move the plot along, but also to make sure the episode was just the right length to drop a huge cliff-hanger. Looking back at this opening sequence, however, the show's incredible foreshadowing becomes clear. When the man cleans the blood off of his shoe, it is representing all the bad things Walt has done, and flushing it down the toilet represents Walt thinking he got rid of them. However, when it comes back up and doesn't flush, it shows that something Walt did will come back. This came to fruition later in the episode with Jesse and the ricin. It seemed strange at the time, but looking back it was absolutely incredible. A lot of people won't notice that, but I got really excited once I realized it.

The fact that Todd views the train robbery as glorious is kind of disturbing, and he figures to have a big role by the end

Another minor sequence I loved was between Walt Jr and his father. First off, we finally have a Walt Jr sighting! Walt telling his son that he has cancer again was a sad scene, and shows how much Walt Jr cares about his father. However, the scene was kind of painful to watch for some reason. Not because something was wrong with the scene, but because Walt told his son that he didn't want to keep anything from him, yet he lied to him about the condition of his cancer. While his motives are clear and understandable, it still hurt me to see Walt lie and instill a false sense of hope into his son. Obviously that's not the only thing Walt is hiding from him, but this is something he really should share with his son. One minor thing I loved about this part was how Walt goes from using the makeup to cover up the truth to covering it with a convenient lie. At this point Walt just tells lies by nature. RJ Mitte really stood out in this scene, showing a great deal of emotion after hearing about his father's condition. Another minor scene was Hank's continued reluctance to get help with catching Walt. The normally friendly and social man is now pushing everyone away, showing his complete obsession once again.

Walt Jr made his first appearance, and RJ Mitte gave a solid performance

One of my favorite moments was the delightfully awkward dinner scene. I lost it every time the waiter came around. I've been at some unpleasant dinner tables, but nothing close to that. Even Skylar's "I had an affair" dinner with Walt and Jesse was this uncomfortable. I was just waiting for some kind of fight to break out, especially between Skylar and Marie. I though Skylar was going to get even on the slap-count, but somehow they avoided conflict (possibly because of timely interruption from the friendly waiter). All of the actors played their parts extremely well, but Dean Norris stood out here. His angry stares and scowls were perfectly timed, and every word he said dripped with hatred. He put in another spectacular performance, and if this keeps up he needs to get some recognition. Of course, this scene was just a prelude to a twist that somehow had me both laughing and stunned. With the way he had been acting, I honestly thought Walt's "confession" was going to be legitimate. Instead, it was an expertly crafted shock that I never saw coming. I'm just baffled that the writers can come up with this stuff. Pinning the whole thing on Hank was just brilliant, yet it somehow added up. Walt thought through the plan completely, leaving very few if any holes. It makes perfect sense when the pieces are purposely miss-aligned. The biggest laugh was elicited when Hank and Marie stared blankly at the screen, which was the exact same reaction I had: I couldn't believe it. Now they might not be able to touch him (at least legally, who knows what Hank will be willing to do). Walt has more evidence for his lie than Hank does for the truth. Bryan Cranston acted as someone who was acting, which takes skill that he has of course.

The dinner table awkwardness was awesome, but not as awesome as the "confession"

Now it's on to the star of the show this week: Jesse Pinkman. He finally got the spotlight after basically being an afterthought the first few episodes, and he didn't disappoint. Last week's cliff-hanger didn't end up being very big due to Hank getting nothing, but it did set up some great lines from Saul as well as the first few good ones from Jesse. One of my favorite moments involving Jesse was the scene out in the desert. Bryan Cranston is so good that I honestly don't know if he was just playing Jesse to get him to leave or honestly trying to get him a new life. On one hand, it makes perfect sense for him to be working him, and he has done things like that to Jesse before. That being said, I've always seen a father-son type relationship between Walt and Jesse. This was evidenced again when they shared a hug. Walt has done a lot of things for Jesse that he didn't need to, but he has also done just as many things that ruined Jesse's life. While watching I leaned towards thinking that Walt was genuine, but looking back I'm likely right in the middle. That's the beauty of this show: we will probably never know for sure if Walt was sincere. Either way, at this point the two seemed to be on good terms. I began to wonder if this was the last we would see of Jesse as he prepared to start a new life. It would have been a happy ending for an extremely likeable character.

Everything seemed ok between these two, and it looked like Jesse was going to get the fresh start we all want to see

I thought this was a fantastic episode before it happened, but once Jesse found out about this missing ricin cigarette everything changed. So much has been going on that I completely forgot about that, and the writers brilliantly placed it just before Jesse could get out of this mess. The hope that Jesse would be starting a new life was replaced with suspense and concern. This was the moment I knew this episode was one of the best. The scenes that followed were, in my opinion, the most intense in the history of the series, and I loved every second of it. Jesse's rage burned like it never has before. I honestly thought Saul may have been about to die when Jesse began beating the crap out of him and pulled out a gun. Walt grabbing a gun means that something bad could very well go down. It's time to face the reality that the show's most beloved character could die next week. Walt definitely won't take too kindly to the fact that Jesse is trying to burn down his house. He hadn't had much time to show his talent in the last few episodes, but Aaron Paul's skill was on full display in this episode, portraying every emotion in the book (besides joy and happiness). Jesse has never been more furious, and Aaron Paul has never been better. I was practically falling off my seat from the point where Jesse stormed into Saul's office all the way to the end. I've never seen anything like this.

This was the moment that sealed this episode's greatness, and set up next week for something similar

I've said it many times already this year, but everything is moving so fast, and so many things are going on at once! How Walt gets to the point seen at the season's opening seemingly had only a few possibilities, but now they are just about endless, and who knows what else they'll throw at us. Not even Breaking Bad has ever had a string of episodes like this, and it just keeps getting better! Next week will likely be even better (which is impossible to fathom). I'm kind of afraid of what twists they will throw next. Anyone who isn't watching this isn't just missing out on something spectacular, they are missing out on what has so far been the greatest conclusion I have ever seen, and it promises to get even better.

PROS:

Jesse Vs Walt came out of nowhere fast as a bolt of lightning, and I NEED to know what happens next

IS JESSE GOING TO DIE?!?!

Jesse almost killed Saul AND doused Walt's house with gas in the same episode!

The end scenes were the most breathtaking in Breaking Bad history

The abrupt ending fit perfectly

Walt's "confession" was a genius bit of writing that almost no one else could have thought of

The false hope put into all of us that Jesse was about to start a new life

Walt's ambiguous intent in the desert conversation

The most awkward dinner of all time

Walt and Jr share a touching moment that was also hard to watch at the same time